A broom in Ducks’ future?

As the Ducks begin their Western Conference semifinal round against

the Dallas Stars today, they are one step closer to the Stanley Cup.

The Ducks were able to dispose of the reigning Stanley Cup

Champion Detroit Red Wings by pulling out the brooms and sweeping

them away in four straight. The confidence that Anaheim gained in

that series will be instrumental as they continue their quest for the

cup. Things don’t get any easier for the Ducks, as they now face the

No. 1 seed in the Western Conference.

The Dallas Stars move into the second round after beating the

Edmonton Oilers in six games. That series was not easy for Dallas,

and it should benefit the Ducks in the fact that Dallas had to expend

more time and energy in order to move on. Obviously, the more games

you need to play to get through the best of seven series, the more

you are put at risk for fatigue and injuries.

Dallas has already struggled this season with injuries, and was

without a few of their key players for part of the season. Forwards

Bill Guerin, Pierre Turgeon and Jason Arnott have all been injured

and couldn’t play for extended periods of time, including the

playoffs. Guerin and Turgeon were out for the entire first round and

Arnott for the latter games of the series. These are key players in

Dallas’s success and if they are able to return, they will certainly

be on the minds of the Ducks defense and their goalie, J.S. Giguere.

Even without these players, Dallas has several outstanding players

that will need to be watched very closely. Mike Modano is one of the

best in the league and he has help with up front with the likes of

Jere Lehtinen, Scott Young and Claude Lemieux. Their defense is

anchored by Derien Hatcher and Sergei Zubov. These two will provide a

lot of offense on the power play unit and will log 20 plus minutes a

night.

Dallas brings in one of the top young goalies, as well, in Marty

Turco. Having a career year in his first as the starter for Dallas,

he will be heavily relied upon if the Stars are to advance.

For me, this will turn out to be a great match up of talented

young goalies. Both Turco and Giguere are playing at the top of their

game and are exuding confidence. Both of these teams feed off of that

confidence, and if one should show a crack in his armor, it will be

interesting to see how his team reacts.

The Ducks short first round was instrumental in keeping the team

healthy and has allowed them time to work on special teams during

their layoff. The power play will need to be better against the Stars

than it was against Detroit. This will take some pressure off of the

Ducks defense and, of course, Giguere.

Anaheim did ride a hot goalie in round one, but the team for the

most part did its job. They definitely will try and be more efficient

in certain areas, but the defense was solid, and the teams’ depth was

evident in its offense coming from a host of players.

Another key for the Ducks is that they got their leaders to lead.

The veteran group of players were able to contribute at both ends of

the ice. Steve Rucchin spent most of the time defending Sergei

Federov’s line and end up scoring the game and series winner.

What do I see for the Ducks in the second round? Time will tell,

but I hope it is as entertaining as the first round. What I can say,

however, is that I like this team because of its character, veteran

leadership and youthful enthusiasm. This is a recipe for success.

Just add water ... frozen that is.

Hope to see you all at the game. Enjoy.